Pam had done her doctoral thesis on the influence of nursery rhymes on learned sexist behaviour. Nursery rhymes are a fun way to teach children about music, rhyme and language, but they also imprint an indelible bigotry on the child’s mind. For example, what boy doesn’t know what little girls are made of?

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And everything nice
That’s what little girls are made of.

How sexist is that? Pam worked for it to be banned from children’s libraries. And behold! she was to give a lecture on this very topic tonight in the local community hall. Cedric thought he’d attend.

He seemed to be the only male in the audience. Everyone sat in a circle. Cedric sat in an empty chair. A woman turned to him.

“How dare you sit there and separate me from my sisters,” she said.

Cedric had nowhere to sit. He sat in a chair outside the circle, over by the wall. A woman turned to him.

“Typical male,” she said, “refusing to be part of the circle. Too scared to join in.”

Cedric rejoined the circle. A woman turned to him.

“How dare you sit there and separate me from my sisters,” she said.

Cedric left.

“Good riddance,” said Pam.

Slugs and snails
And puppy-dog tails
That's what little boys are made of.